Improving the effectiveness of agricultural extension services in supporting farmers

to adapt to climate change

One cannot stress enough how crucial extension services are to assisting smallholder farmers in
overcoming the various obstacles associated with agricultural output. The ability of agricultural
extension agents to better support smallholder farmers in managing the risks and repercussions
of climate change, however, has not been the subject of many research. The importance of
addressing climate change is growing because it poses a serious danger to smallholder food
production. In order to help smallholder farmers in Ghana navigate and mitigate the
consequences of climate change on food production, this research seeks to determine how
agricultural extension agents in Ghana might achieve this goal. In Ghana's Upper East region, it
poses the following question: (i) What information sources do agricultural extension agents
use? (ii) How can agricultural extension enhance its capacity? agents for the efficient
dissemination of climate data for the construction of robust agricultural systems? In the context
of climate change adaptation, what are the main obstacles standing in the way of successful
extension outcomes? In order to conduct expert interviews, surveys with thirty-two agricultural
extension agents in northeastern Ghana, and three regional stakeholder workshops, the paper
used a mixed skills approach. According to the results of question (i), agricultural extension
agents in the Upper East region primarily obtain their climatic information from radios and
televisions. Results pertaining to question (ii) revealed the need for capacity building, including
training on information communication technologies (ICT) to provide climate change extension
advice, as well as the development of extension agents' technical skills, communication abilities,
and knowledge of and application of climate smart agricultural interventions, such as soil
moisture conservation techniques. Other requirements wereacquiring expertise in project
monitoring and assessment, as well as field demonstration. Regarding question (iii), the main
obstacles that agricultural extension agents faced when providing climate change extension
were the absence of transportation facilities for them, the scarcity of relevant extension
materials, the high ratios of agricultural extension agents to farmers, and the insufficient
funding to put adaptation measures into place. Farmer opposition to change and intricate land
tenure systems that prevent investment were two larger obstacles lowering the efficacy of
extension programs. It is recommended that agricultural extension agents attend regular
training on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to provide extension
services. Additionally, the use of audio-visual aids in extended delivery should be encouraged.
Regular evaluations of the capacity-building requirements of extension agents should be
conducted to support these efforts.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096321000334

Philip Antwi-Agyei a, Lindsay C. Stringer b 2021

Effectiveness of the lead farmer approach in agricultural extension service

provision: Nationally representative panel data analysis in Malawi
Since 2009, Malawi has vigorously advocated and implemented the lead farmer (LF) method as
a means of bolstering government extension personnel and expediting the spread of technology
throughout the country. Previous publications have demonstrated the widespread use of the LF
strategy in donor-funded projects in Malawi, demonstrating the beneficial roles and
contributions of LFs. However, national data consistently demonstrate low rates of adoption of
management methods that the LFs recommend, which is why this study extensively examines
the LF approach's nationwide implementation and efficacy. In particular, we analyze how
farmers' awareness and adoption of various marketed technologies and management
techniques are influenced by their interactions with and exposure to LFs, as well as their
availability to LFs' recommendations. We make use of panel data from 2,880 farming
households and data from 531 randomly chosen LFs. households and model the impact of the
LF method on technology uptake and awareness using linked random effects. In-depth
interviews with service providers and agricultural extension development officers (AEDOs)
supplement this modeling, as do 52 focus group discussions.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026483771930119X

Catherine Ragasa 2020

Exploring Farmers’ Perceptions of Agricultural Technologies

Food insecurity and low agricultural productivity of important crops remain major problems in
Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These problems are made worse by the expanding
population, the exhaustion of resources, and the shifting climate. Although there are a lot of
agricultural technology (AgTs) available globally as a means of increasing agricultural
production and food security, SSA and Tanzania have not seen as much success with them.
This is due to the fact that the adoption of AgTs is a multifaceted, highly localized process that
involves a number of actors, phases, and spatial and temporal dimensions. During the adoption
process of AgTs, smallholder farmers frequently encounter challenges related to sustainability,
adoption barriers, and scaling-up, which are contingent upon the specific region. This suggests
that acceptance barriers, scaling-up issues, and sustainability all require a methodical,
concurrent knowledge. Using AgTs to more effectively direct policy interventions and
agricultural strategy in Tanzania and SSA. Furthermore, as farmers are the main participants in
the adoption of AgTs, it is important to take into account their perspectives in order to have a
deeper understanding of the local context. In light of this, the study adopts a case study
methodology, employing the scaling-up assessment (ScalA) method along with three focus
group discussions with 44 smallholder farmers to evaluate the sustainability, adoption barriers,
and scaling-up of three AgTs (small-scale irrigation, improved seed use, and fertilizer use) in
Tanzania in a methodical and concurrent manner. According to the study, farmers in the study
region believe that all three AgTs are sustainable. Adoption rates are thought to be moderate
when it comes to using fertilizers; low for small-scale irrigation, high for better seeds. The main
obstacles to adoption that farmers face are a deficiency of technical materials, marketing
resources, and expertise. For the most restricted of the three AgTs, small-scale irrigation,
scaling-up is thought to be somewhat satisfied but well completed for the use of fertilizers and
better seeds. Farmers' lack of confidence in the AgTs' additional value beyond project activities,
marketing facilities, and technical physical inputs are the biggest obstacles to scaling up. While
small-scale irrigation has an average chance of success, the application of fertilizers and better
seeds has a high overall potential for success. The reasons why the bundle of AgTs is absent
from the study are partially explained by the farmers' perceptions.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/998

Jha,et al.,2020

Impact of agricultural policy intervention on yield and profitability of maize farmers

Concerns over the successful execution and oversight of Ghana's Planting for Food and Jobs
(PFJ) initiative have grown. This study looks at how the PFJ program has affected maize yield
and profitability in Ghana's Ashanti area, as well as how farmers perceive it. Utilizing
information from 400 corn growers, we use perception indices, endogenous regression,
propensity score matching, and an inverse probability weighted regression adjustment
technique to assess the program's impressions among farmers and look into the factors that
influence their involvement in the PFJ program and how it affects maize yield and profitability.
Our findings demonstrated that farmers view the PFJ program favorably. Additionally, the
primary determinants of involvement in PFJ include years of formal education, political
identification, farm size, and experience in marital status, off-farm income, credit availability,
political affiliation, and the distance between a farmer's location and the district seat in the
context of growing maize. Furthermore, the outcomes demonstrate that the PFJ program
significantly raises maize output and profitability. The initiatives should focus on educated
farmers who own large farms and reside further away from the district seat in order to
maximize involvement. For increased productivity and profitability, farmers must be periodically
made more aware of and educated about the PFJ program.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2023.2249928

Prah,et al.,2023

Bright O Asante ,Roberto Aidoo ,James O. Mensah ,Fred Nimoh

Nutrition Capacity Assessment of Agriculture Extension Services

The distance between a farmer's location and the district capital in the context of cultivating
maize is one aspect; other factors include political loyalty, marital status, off-farm income, and
financing availability. Moreover, the results show that the PFJ program increases maize
profitability and output significantly. To get the most participation, the interventions should
concentrate on educated farmers who live further out from the district seat and possess large
farms. Farmers need to be frequently informed about and made more aware of the PFJ
program in order to boost production and profitability.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03795721231158417

Adeyemi,et al.,2023 ,Victor Adejoh.MDS, Adeyinka Onabolu.Phd

FARMERS ASSESSMENT OF EXTENSION SERVICES DELIVERY

The study examined the ways in which farmers in Nigeria's Bauchi State assessed the delivery
of extension services. A multi-stage random sample procedure was used to select two hundred
farmers from each of the three agricultural zones in the state. Data were collected by structured
questionnaires, and both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the
results. The findings indicated that, with a mean age of 42, men made up the majority of
farmers (84.5%). Seventy-five percent were married, and the typical household size consisted
of eight members. Likewise, 38% of the respondents had been farming for six to 10 years, and
their average land size was 1.5 hectares. Of the farmers, 26% have monthly meetings with
extension agents, while 58% are part of farmers cooperatives. Additionally, 78% of farmers
were able to every technology from agriculture's subsector, whereas

Radio provided 88.5% of the data on the services provided via extension. The logistics
regression showed that, whereas extension contact was significant (P<0.05), farmers'
evaluations of the provision of extension services were strongly influenced by yearly income and
access to extension (P<0.01). Low extension agent-to-farmer ratios, a lack of teaching
resources and equipment, and restricted extension staff mobility were the main barriers to the
provision of extension services. The analysis revealed that the primary determinants influencing
farmers' evaluations of the provision of extension services in the study region were the quantity
of extension contacts, yearly income, and availability of extension. To solve the limitations
identified, more extension workers must be employed. notably address the issue of the
inadequate number of extension agents per farming household.

https://www.njaat.atbu.edu.ng/index.php/njaat/article/view/460

musa,et al.,2023 ,Abdullahi S. ,sulaiman A.

Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Providers’ Perception of the Use of E`-
Extension Tools for Services Delivery

The comprehension of extension service providers' perspectives about the utilization of e-

extension tools are essential for the application and implementation of technology. Thus, this
research looked into the views on the usage of e-extension by Agricultural Extension and
Advisory Services Providers (AEASPs) imo State's tools. With the assistance of 130 Imo ADP
extension employees, data were gathered. a survey. The acquired data were examined
descriptively. The findings indicate that 68.4% of the participants held a postsecondary degree.
Among the e-extension tools offered were YouTube (91.6%) and Facebook (86.6%) Among
many others, there is Zoom(98.35), Whatsapp(100%), and Twitter (98.3%). In general, the
extension providers showed a favorable attitude on using E-extension tools since they
acknowledged that doing so expedites services and supply of farm information. But they deal
with the difficulties of unpredictable power supply(100%), inadequate network coverage(100%)
and high device costs (77.5%). It is advised that any kind of government levels should create a
robust network that allows extension workers to flourish. coverage, a consistent power supply,
and extension staff training, among other things.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/A-Edet/publication/370300762_4272514527811231/
links/644a3e0397449a0e1a5f338a/4272514527811231.pdf

Ajaero, J.O.,2018
Exploring the Relation between Farmer Group Membership and Agricultural
Productivity

Particularly in emerging nations, farmer organizations have played a crucial role in the pursuit
of agricultural development. As a strategic agricultural product, the Indonesian government has
recently encouraged the growth of farmer associations, primarily in the rice industry. In the
Indonesian rice industry, this study investigated the relationships among farmer group
membership, agricultural methods, and productivity. The 2014 National Agricultural Survey data
were examined using regression analysis and propensity score matching (PSM). The empirical
results validated the favorable correlation between productivity in the Indonesian rice industry
and farmer group participation. The degree to which farmers participated in farmer groups was
also influenced by their age, gender, education, and farming practices, including access to
irrigation and land status.

https://agraris.umy.ac.id/index.php/agraris/article/view/115

Lukman,et al.,2023 , Anisa Dwi Utami, Ach Firman Wahyudi